2010 prius V 120,000 miles Threw a PA080 code, but reset car and drove for a while and it never came back on. Went to do smog here in Cali, failed smog. Shows its stored in permanent memory. Bought my own OBDII monitor, no stored or pending codes, all monitors are green. Driven for hundreds and damn hundreds of miles..... Still code stored in memory. The car is not worth it putting $2000 for a new battery in my opinion and everywhere I talked to, they can't seem to guarantee that even after replacing the battery that the code will "erase itself" Someone told me that they had to drive 1500 miles before it cleared itself. Why does the "permanent code" have to be so mystical of when it will turn off? Doesn't make sense to me and I'm pretty sure I'll never buy another hybrid again. I've also had engine issues with this car. I feel like I'm fixing two cars in one here. So damn frustrated.
Maybe it's not so mystical; the repair manual (more info) lays the procedure right out: do a code clear (even if no code is showing), perform a universal trip, then shift to N and let the battery drop below 30%. If the vital stats all stay good throughout that procedure, the code goes away.
^^^Just because it’s a hybrid doesn’t mean it’s any different from a conventional gas powered car when it has a permanent code stored. A permanent code is stored to deter anyone from just clearing the MIL without actually repairing the car. It requires a specific drive cycle after repairs have been performed to clear and verify.
And therein lies the rub. You can drive for "hundreds and damn hundreds of miles" (to quote the OP) and if you don't check all the boxes and temperatures the cycle requires, then the code doesn't clear. I'm pretty sure that you also have to get out of the car, do the hokey pokey and turn yourself around before the codes will clear.
Yeah, some cars are easy peazy and others are very specific and cause some anxiety. It’s especially hard to run some drive cycles in a city environment. You could cause some tempers to flare, for sure!
